By early next year, Tesla aims to achieve a production capacity of 5,000 cars a week at Giga Berlin, its German plant. This should allow the company to meet the growing demand for the Model Y in the old continent; Not surprisingly, the midsize SUV has become the absolute leader in its category so far this year.
In addition, we must not lose sight of the fact that later the German facilities will also assemble the Model 3, which last year was able to overtake the BMW 3 Series as the best-selling premium sedan in the D-segment (mid-size sedans) in the European market. Therefore, the output of the factory may continue to increase throughout 2023 until it reaches a capacity of half a million units per year.
In parallel, Tesla is already working on the battery plant that will house Giga Berlin. The complex will start operating in the first quarter of 2023 and will be responsible for producing 4680 cells for the European Model Y. The manufacture of electric motors for its part will begin this year (until now they were imported from China).
According to a recent report, Tesla will add a third shift in December to reach the planned cadence of 5,000 units per week, a notable increase from the current 1,200-1,500. Thus, the factory will start to work nonstop 24 hours a day (the current shifts are from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.).
Giga Berlin currently only produces the Tesla Model Y
In the short term, Tesla is expected to begin assembling the Model Y RWD at its European plant, which is currently coming from Giga Shanghai. The main difference between the Chinese and the local model will be its battery pack since while the former uses CATL cells, the latter will be supplied by BYD. However, in both cases, the chemistry will be LFP (lithium iron phosphate).
It is interesting to remember that BYD Blade batteries are characterized, beyond their durability and high safety rates, by having a module-free design that allows maximizing the use of useful space inside the pack, something that is consistent with the latest Tesla advances in this field.
The technical specifications should not vary too much from one to another. The Model Y RWD currently sold in our market homologates a range of 455 km WLTP, slightly less than the 565 km WLTP announced by the Model Y Long Range AWD with NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) batteries from LG Energy Solution.
